In Truth
by The Lady Bonny
Summary: “There is nothing as powerful as the truth and often nothing as strange.” – Daniel Webster. A 20Truths fic about the Teen Titans
1. Beast Boy

**A/N**: This started out as just a writing exercise with a neat idea I found surfing around the anime sections of FFN and then turned into a kind-of fic. The story is basically a 20truth—which is pretty self-explanatory—for each of the Titans, with each chapter featuring a different Titan. Most of these are just observations I've made or things I've thought up about the characters. Some of the information is comic-based but having a thorough knowledge of DC comics isn't necessary to read this. If you do see something weird or possibly inaccurate, though, PM me because I like to have my information right. And yes, there are hints of pairings here—as in not-so-subtle hints of RobStar and BBRae. If that's not your 'ship of choice, you are more than welcome to continue reading but you're doing so at your own risk and flaming me for differing opinions will only leave both of us feeling frustrated.

All that said, please read, enjoy, and review—because reviews help fight global warming. Al Gore said so. Bono agrees.

Oh, one more thing—the Breath Strip thing mentioned below? Yeah, don't try that.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Teen Titans. Or Jones Sodas. Or the Killers. Or really much of anything.

20Truths: Beast Boy

1. He never particularly liked the color green. He's okay with it now but he kind of had to be. It's not like he's going to wake up tomorrow and be blue. Not only is that impossible but the smurf jokes would be unbearable.

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2. After he was cured of Sakutia and found out he could change into animals, Chief Tawaba said his powers were a gift, and Beast Boy believed the man. Then he turned into the Beast and although he's decided that does not mean the chief was wrong, he's learned that gifts and curses aren't really that different.

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3. He can swing dance. And he's _good_.

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4. He knows that his friends love him. He's just terrified to know what they actually _think_ of him.

Beast Boy does his job well—he wouldn't be a Titan if he didn't—but he is also extremely aware of the fact that his joking demeanor has not given him a glowing reputation as a hero and that Robin has had to defend his presence on the team to Batman at least twice. He knows people think of him as the team's weakest link. Robin is a martial arts master as well as one of the world's greatest detectives. Starfire's strength enables her to accomplish feats that thirty full grown men wouldn't dare attempt, and her starbolts can melt titanium. Cyborg's mostly metal body makes him nearly invincible, and no one in their right mind would stand against his sonic cannon. Raven can fly, heal, move through time and space, _and_ just the thought of what she can do with her powers made some criminals wet themselves.

Beast Boy can change into animals. That is it.

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5. He would never—never, never, _never_—tell her this but he thinks Raven needs a knight. Oh, yeah, he knows she can more than take care of herself but everyone needs someone to look after them every once in awhile right? And she is a princess (in a really bizarre manner of speaking), after all, and every princess needs a knight in shining armor. Beast Boy thinks she needs someone strong and brave and capable, and he wishes he was suited for more than just a jester's cap…

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6. Sometimes, he has dreams that Warp attacks but instead of Star disappearing into the swirly time-portal, he does. Then he's twenty years into the future but the city looks like something out of a 1940s detective movie—cold and dark, with snow and ice freezing everything. That's not the worst part of the nightmare, though. The worst part is when he suddenly finds himself in the Tower, his friends are still there—and they haven't missed him at all.

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7. He also has dreams that the Titans are all lifeguards and the girls are in bikinis á la _Baywatch_ and Raven actually laughs at his jokes. Yeah, Beast Boy likes those dreams much better.

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8. He really likes the Killers but he can't listen to "Mr. Brightside" without thinking about Slade, Terra, and himself.

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9. He really resents the Geico gecko. People think that little guy so friggin' cute but when _he_ changes into a tiny, talking lizard, girls flip out and call animal control even _after_ he changes back.

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10. People might think of him as the dumb Titan but he's good at biology. Really, really good—and why shouldn't he be, when he has the ability to turn into any animal imaginable and had world-famous geneticists for parents? But the others must not realize this because they all looked pretty freaked out when they caught him watching a documentary on Mendelian genetics and immunology. Just as a joke (because the disbelieving looks they were giving him were getting annoying), he asked if they actually thought he was completely ignorant. Then he had to pretend he didn't noticed their hesitation. Beast Boy hasn't watched the Discovery Channel since.

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11. Once, secretly, he tried Raven's tea. It took six Jones Sodas to rid his mouth of that taste.

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12. Despite everything, there's still some small part of him that wants to prove to Mento that he does have what it takes to be a superhero. This is more than teenage rebellion and determination. It's the fact that every little boy, no matter how old he gets, will always want his father to be proud of him.

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13. Now he has a new appreciation for _Beauty and the Beast_. The movie gives him hope sometimes but it's the last line of the narrator's prologue that sticks in his head and keeps him awake at night—"And who could ever love a beast?"

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14. Adam Sandler is funny, George Clooney is smooth, and Jason Statham is badass—but Humphrey Bogart is the man and his favorite actor. Beast Boy could quote _Casablanca_,_ The Maltese Falcon_, and _The African Queen_ line for line by the time he was nine, which was the same age that he decided he wanted to be an actor. It's been years since then but he can still quote those movies. And he still wants to act, too.

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15. You know in movies, when a girl likes a guy but doesn't know how he feels, she'll go buy flowers and do the whole he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not thing? Beast Boy thinks it's stupid but that doesn't stop him from buying an entire bouquet after the whole Trigon ordeal and spending three hours on his rock, picking off petals. He always seemed to end on "not".

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16. Cyborg once dared him to put one of those Listerine Breath Strips up his nose. It _burned_ but oddly enough, it also cleared up his sinuses.

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17. He's pleased with his accomplishments as a superhero and he still has nightmares about some of the things he's seen both as a Titan and as a member of the Doom Patrol but it's the moments he's experienced as simply a teenager among his friends that he cherishes the most. One of his biggest regrets is not hugging Raven back after. One of his favorite memories is singing karaoke with the others in Japan. One of his proudest moments is the time he got Robin to laugh so hard Dr. Pepper sprayed out of the Boy Wonder's nose. One of his most terrifying moments is when he discovered that Pantha had a crush on him.

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18. Every phone number he brought home from Japan has disappeared, and even though he can't be sure, he suspects Raven knows where they went. She was the one most annoyed by his fans. He considers asking her—and then remembers he likes living.

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19. Sometimes he still leaves flowers in Terra's cave. He isn't sure why he does this—it's not like he hasn't moved on with his life—but maybe he just wants to make sure that someone remembers her. If it were him, he'd want someone to remember.

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20. The others don't know this but Herald asked him to lead Titans South. He almost said yes—but he didn't. He wasn't sure why at first because he could think of so many reasons why he should do it. He could be a good leader, he knew that now, and leading a team would be a great opportunity. He wouldn't have to be thought of as the slacker or the brainless one. He would get a new start with a team that would not only like him but also completely and totally respected him from the very beginning. For once, he would have people looking up to him. He would finally make Mento proud. So why had he turned the offer down?

And then he went back to the Tower and saw Robin and Cyborg playing Mega Monkeys XIV. They told him he could take on the winner. Starfire was in the kitchen, preparing God-probably-doesn't-even-know-what, but she beamed and waved at him. Then Raven appeared next to him to say that there was a plate of tofu waiting for him in the fridge because whatever their resident alien was fixing was likely toxic, and she didn't feel like having to heal him this evening. But she was almost smiling when she said it. Beast Boy smiled back.

He knew why he said no.


	2. Robin

**A/N**: Now it's time for the Boy Wonder. After Beast Boy, this one was easiest to write but I did grow up watching Batman: the Animated Series, where the writers allowed poor Dick Grayson to relax every once in awhile.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Teen Titans or very much of anything else mentioned here. Especially Steven Seagal.

20Truths: Robin

1. He has never wished he wasn't a Titan but sometimes, he wishes he wasn't their leader. It makes him less personable, and honestly, he hates it when his decisions piss everyone off. The responsibility is suffocating, and the knowledge that if something ever happens to one of his teammates—his _family_ in every way that matters to him—it would be completely his fault keeps him awake at night.

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2. Titans Tower has exactly one hundred and eighty-two windows in it. Robin knows this since he was the one to design the Tower and chose to put so many windows in because he refused to all his team to spend their time trying to make their way through darkness. He was sick of living that way, too, and he decided the only shadows he wanted to deal with were ones created by the late afternoon sun.

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3. He knows Bruce Wayne loves Dick Grayson. He does not know what Batman thinks about Robin.

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4. Having fangirls used to make him extremely uncomfortable. And then he met Larry. Now he'll willingly face a dozen Kittens and junior proms—anything, as long as there aren't any small, hyperactive doppelgangers with the ability to bend the rules of reality around.

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5. He dreads the day his teammates find out about those short pants.

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6. He hates storms. He hates that his parents died on a stormy night, and he hates that Batman made him stay up every stormy night after that, until he stopped crying. Now, on stormy nights, he doesn't cry. But he still can't sleep.

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7. Starfire wasn't his first kiss but hers was the first one that made his heart go crazy and electricity run up his spine. When he learns that she only did it to learn English, Robin isn't sure what he hates more—that knowing this hurts or that he isn't surprised it hurts.

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8. He knows that he doesn't have the greatest relationship with Beast Boy but it's not for the reasons everyone thinks. It has less to do with them being too different and more to do with them being too much _alike_. They're childhoods were too similar—filled loss, hardships, and imperious father-figures who either loved them too much or not enough—and it's going to take a little longer for those wounds to heal. After all, they're only beginning to remove themselves from the shadows of the men who raised them.

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9. He's considering letting his hair grow out but hasn't done it yet. Cyborg and Beast Boy give him a hard enough time for the amount of gel he uses every day so he doesn't want to know the kind of field day they'd have if he showed up with a ponytail.

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10. He has a nightlight in his room. If the others know about it, they don't say anything but after the events with Slade's mask, no would blame him for being wary of the dark anyway.

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11. "Romani. Not gypsies—_Romani_," he once corrected the mayor during a televised meeting, and even though he blushed afterward, he didn't apologize for making the correction. Blood is blood, after all, and he is not ashamed of what runs in his veins.

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12. In the back of his closet is a poster of the Flying Graysons. He's had it for over six years but can't bring himself to put it on his wall. He's waiting for the day it doesn't hurt to look at it.

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13. There is a desk in his room and in its bottom drawer, there are instructions for individual funerals should something ever happen to one of the Titans. They all wrote their own, and he's never read any of them besides his own. He's locked that drawer and deliberately lost the key. He hopes he never has to find it.

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14. He believes the most terrifying moment in his entire career as a superhero—no, in his entire _life_ was the night Starfire came home with those wedding magazines.

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15. Once, he and Aqualad shared hair-care tips. _Once_.

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16. He's still determined to stop Slade. He's just aware that there is a fine line dividing determination from obsession and that most of his past actions—locking himself in the evidence room, not eating or sleeping for days, pushing his friends away, letting his anger get the better of him, hurting the people he cares about, losing sight of what is important, and worst, losing sight of himself—were way past that line. He never wants to go that far again. He never wants to be compared to Slade again.

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17. Sometimes he worries about the future, about what will happen when they all grow up, and as strange as the thought of an adult Beast Boy is, Robin knows that the years are going to pass too quickly for any of their liking. They can't stay Teen Titans forever but what will come after that? He doesn't fear for his future—he's the adopted son of a multi-millionaire, he's had the best education money can buy, and due to his completely human genes, he can walk away from the life of a superhero if he so chooses—but what will happen to his friends? Would Beast Boy continue being a superhero instead of following through with his own dreams just because vigilantism is all he has ever known? Would the world accept Raven if she wasn't spending all her time saving it or would people persecute her as a threat to humanity? Would Cyborg ever feel comfortable walking the streets without his friends surrounding him or would he build another pair of deceptor rings to hide behind? And most frightening of all, would Starfire feel as though she had no purpose on earth and leave?

Then he shakes himself, remembering that he lives in the present and in the present, he and his friends are together and happy. The future is a long way away and will take care of itself. And if it doesn't and his friends are not given the lives they deserve, well…he'll just have to take care of it himself.

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18. Yes, he is aware his outfit from Tokyo made him look like a Steven Seagal reject. Yes, it still made him feel badass.

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19. He's realized his friends help him achieve all the things he once thought impossible. He's swallowed his pride for Cyborg. He's gone to hell and back for Raven. He's fought a war for Beast Boy. He's shoved aside every fear, inhibition, and reservation he's ever had just to see Starfire smile. And he's never been happier.

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20. Someday, he's going to take his mask off. Someday.


	3. Raven

**A/N:** Raven's turn. She's my second favorite Titan so I hope I've done her justice.

Thank you to all those who have reviewed, and I know I haven't finished personally answering all of them but I promise I will.

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own 'em.

20Truths: Raven

1. She grew up on a planet full of pacifists where there was no such thing as crime or malice. Yet Titans Tower is the only place she has ever truly felt safe.

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2. Unless she has to go into Nevermore, she does not look into mirrors. Her reflection reminds her too much of a sad, beautiful woman with eyes just like hers.

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3. Sometimes, she doesn't mind having "the girl-talk" with Starfire. It makes her feel like a normal teenager, and when you are a half-demon vigilante living in a T-shaped tower with three other super-powered teens and one martial arts master, the least little bit of normalcy can be refreshing.

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4. She will never watch another horror movie again. Ever.

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5. When she was young, there was a horrible storm on Azarath. The thunder shook Azar's temple, the wind seemed to shriek her name, and the lightening caused terrifying shadows to dance on the walls. She had been so afraid that she cried. Her tears resulted in more damage than any force of nature could have. From that moment on, Raven has hated storms with a passion usually reserved for only Trigon.

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6. She still believes that TV will rot your brain—Beast Boy is a testimony to that—but she kind of likes _Grey's Anatomy_. The characters are very realistic, the dialogue is snappy, and the writers have actually managed to balance personal drama with medical procedures. Even the "Is Meredith dead?" plotline wasn't _too_ painful to sit through.

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7. She. Is. Not. A. Goth. At least, not in the demeaning sense created by MTV and high school clichés, the stereotype that implies heavy metal, anger issues, and a fascination with death. She wears dark clothes because she prefers dark colors, and for that matter, her favorite color isn't even black. She keeps to herself because a) she was raised by monks who kept her away from other people, b) her emotions cause things to explode if she isn't careful, and c) she still has a few abandonment issues to work through, which make it difficult for her to open up to anyone. She is pale because her skin is _naturally_ grey just like her hair is _naturally_ purple. She likes Evanescence and Lacuna Coil but her ipod also has Regina Spektor and Holly Brook. She enjoys books that deal with darker themes because they seem the most realistic but Jane Austen and William Faulkner are also among her favorite authors. She is sarcastic because her sense of humor could best be equated with the Atacama Desert. These qualities do not make her a Goth—just slightly antisocial and fiercely independent.

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8. She likes children, and it's been that way ever since she kept the roof of a burning school from falling on Miss Leila's kindergarten class. The multi-colored, construction paper thank-you cards are among of her most prized possessions.

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9. When she's being honest with herself (or, rather, when her selves are being honest with her, because Raven still has trouble accepting this), she will admit that she was jealous of all the attention Beast Boy gave to Terra. He's an annoyance, certainly, but he is _her_ annoyance.

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10. She has a prom dress in the back of her closet. She secretly bought it when Starfire got one for that junior prom fiasco and although she still doesn't understand what possessed her to do so, she can't bring herself to get rid of it. It's blue with a halter neck, and she believes that she almost looks beautiful in it.

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11. Overall, she thinks Robin is an amazing leader but there are times—when he's too proud to apologize to Beast Boy for the whole Beast incident, when he's too stubborn to listen to Cyborg's suggestions about improving their training methods, when he is too stupid to notice that Starfire is _right in front of him_ and has been for almost two years—Raven believes that Richard "Dick" Grayson was aptly named.

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12. She didn't love Malchior but she will admit to an infatuation. After all, he did say she was beautiful, and there aren't many people who will call the heiress to hell such.

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13. When she was three, she wanted to be a ballerina. When she was eight, she wanted to be Azar. When she was thirteen, she wanted to be anything other than what she was. Now, she doesn't know what she wants to be—but she likes knowing that she has options.

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14. After Tokyo, she found she had developed an irrational hatred for giggly, short-skirted girls who don't know how to keep their hands to themselves. The fact that a certain green teammate of hers continues to attract them has not helped.

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15. There is a part of her that loves Trigon. There are no words to describe the way she absolutely loathes that part of herself—she hates it almost as much as she hates him—but there's nothing she can do to change it. She tried. She's spent hours reminding herself that he raped her mother, that he is the reason she spent her entire childhood unhappy and alone. Trigon is the reason Arella could barely stand to look at her, and he's the reason she was so afraid to open herself up to the Titans because the people she loved were going to be the first ones he targeted. She knows Trigon wanted to bring about the apocalypse and that he just wanted to use her, his own child, as a portal because _he did not love her_…

But Raven can't help it. Despite the devastation and destruction he caused, despite the fact that he has tainted her existence, despite the knowledge that he tried to murder the people she needs most in the world, she loves her father.

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16. She's read all the Harry Potter books. More than once.

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17. She sometimes stays up late to watch cooking show reruns. They haven't done her any good yet but she still has a few recipes to try.

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18. She stayed in the shower for over an hour after the night of the prophecy. It took that long to wash away the feeling of Slade's hands on her.

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19. She's fully aware that Beast Boy has a crush on her, and she tries not to encourage him. She's also aware that she still has that stupid stuffed chicken and the lucky penny he gave her, and she's terrified of the day when he finally gives up and takes his smiles elsewhere. She just doesn't know what to do about any of it.

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20. One day, she will have complete control of her emotions and when that day comes, she's going to repay her friends for their years of support and patience. She promises herself that she will allow Starfire to take her to the mall any time and give her that makeover the Tamarian's always wanted to do. She will let Robin teach her the hand-to-hand combat he's tried to convince her she needs to learn and maybe even give him a little insight into the way a girl's mind works because he could definitely use the help. She will play another round of Stankball with Cyborg and go with him to the National Antique Car Museum in Copper City. And she will show Beast Boy that smile and laugh he's been fighting for because she's done both too many times without letting him see.

She'll finally let herself be happy, too. She thinks she deserves that.


	4. Cyborg

**A/N:** Ah, Cyborg. I really do love the big guy. Can't understand why he's so underappreciated, though.

**Disclaimer:** These are just a cruel reminder of what I don't own.

20Truths: Cyborg

1. The computer in his head runs through numerous statistics and assessments every time the Titans go into a big fight, and the odds of success for the team are rarely good. He likes that he's proven himself wrong each and every time.

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2. His high school letterman's jacket is in his closet and the trophy from winning the all-state shot-put award is on his dresser. He doesn't know why either are there or why he's even kept them this long but he also knows neither will be going anywhere anytime soon.

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3. He's fully aware that he has a tendency to flirt and that that fact is going to someday get him into trouble. For instance, there was one night when he suddenly realized that he asked Bumblebee to go to a concert, Kole to dinner and a movie, and Sarah Sims to go ice skating, and had it not been for an uncharacteristically brilliant idea from Beast Boy that involved duct tape, coat hangers, and Robin's amazing forgery skills, he'd probably be in a bunch of pieces scattered across the city.

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4. Romantic movies make him cry. Don't get him started on the time the team watched _Titanic_…

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5. He isn't sure if his needs to eat food—his body would probably sustain him without it—but meat just tastes too good to give up.

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6. His father still writes him letters. He hasn't responded to them yet and he isn't sure if he ever will but he keeps them, mostly because they always end with the same line: _I love you, son._

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7. It's no secret that he loves the T-Car. It was the first thing he ever built on his own, without consultation or help. Instead he used his own two hands and his own knowledge about the way a car works. He designed the blue prints himself, and he assembled the initial frame without any help from his internal computer. He spent weeks building the rest car, and he would have memorized every single detail down to the serial numbers of every single part even if he didn't have an internal memory drive. He's not exaggerating when he calls it his baby.

But sometimes he wonders…_is this what STAR labs feels about _me

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8. After that Fourth of July with Mad Mod, he decided it was not only his job as best friend but also his civic duty to make Beast Boy read a history book.

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9. He can do the entire dance to "Thriller". He's currently teaching it to Starfire.

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10. He still talks to Fixit every now and then. The guy's still got a long way to go but Cyborg doesn't mind being patient. It's part of being human.

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11. Beast Boy and Starfire scream while Raven and Robin simply wake up shivering but he still envies them that they can have nightmares—or any kind of dream at all.

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12. When he was in elementary school, he got into a fist fight with Charlie Burke over whose mom made the best waffles. He still thinks he was right.

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13. Machines have the potential to exist for many, many years. They can outlast humans. That knowledge absolutely terrifies him because he doesn't want to just keep existing until he's in a world his friends aren't.

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14. In his internal memory files, he's has about eighteen letters saved. All begin with "Dear Jinx" and none are finished.

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15. He misses having hair.

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16. He doesn't like the rain. He _knows_ he's not going to rust but just the thought makes him extremely uncomfortable.

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17. Tofu's not really that bad, if you put enough A1 on it...

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18. He's an only child but sometimes when he looks at his friends and feels that sudden swell of love and pride, he believes he knows exactly what it's like to be a big brother.

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19. He can accept who he is now. It took a long, long time and there are still some issues he needs to work through but he is finally okay with knowing that he's never going to have the normal, suburbanite life he always figured he would end up with. He figured all that out around the time he faced Atlas when it took both his human heart and his machine-made strength to save his friends. He is Cyborg _and_ Victor Stone, and he's made his peace with that.

But he doesn't like to think about any of that because he isn't sure if he _should_ be okay with the fact that more that sixty percent of his body is made out of titanium body armor or that some people are always going to be a little bit scared when they look at him. Most people wouldn't be so what does that make him if he is?

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20. Even without the whole mind control thing, Cyborg knew he wouldn't have stayed at Titans East. Sure, he liked them all and wouldn't have minded working with them for a while but he never would have felt comfortable there. They didn't have an anal-retentive leader, a happy-go-lucky alien princess, a moody half-demon, and a goofball of a changeling, and Cyborg found he had a hard time doing his job without those factors.


	5. Starfire

**A/N:** This one was the hardest to write. I adore Starfire but she's the character I struggle with the most. I wanted to do this and make it sound like her but I'm not too sure how well it came out. I apologize in advance for any awkwardness.

General Havoc asked if I was going to continue this beyond the original five Titans so in case anyone else was wondering—yes, I am. Doing these 20Truth things are really fun and the other Titans deserve some love, too.

And MondTR! You left some awesome reviews for me on this story and my other one, and I'd like to get back to you and answer your questions. Got an email address I can reach you at? I tried looking up the name you gave me for FFN but I couldn't find your profile.

**Disclaimer:** Is anyone out there under the impression that I own TT, Star Trek, or Shakespeare? No? Good, because I don't.

20Truths: Starfire

1. On her first expedition to the grocer's store, she found Coriander, which was a delightful discovery—after she made certain it was not ground up essence of Tamaranians, of course.

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2. She spent her first four months on Earth searching the sky for Tamaran before realizing that her planet was too far away to even be seen as the smallest of stars.

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3. For many years, her greatest fear was what terrors the Gordanians could unleash upon the galaxy. Now she knows that her people's greatest enemies are not as invincible as they once seemed. Now she has a new fear, one introduced to her during her journey into the future—and how can she conquer this fear, when things like death, disappearance, and the pain that follows both are so much more powerful than she?

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4. She does not wear such a revealing uniform because she wants to flaunt her body. It is simply that Tamaranians internal temperatures are nearly twice that of the average human and so Earth's climate is almost uncomfortably hot to her.

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5. She hardly knows her parents. She remembers that her mother is very beautiful and her father has green eyes and bright red hair just like her own, and she remembers that they always promised to attend their daughters' sparring lessons and _tripklap_ recitals but…they never did. Galfore once tried to explain their absence. He said it might not seem fair but she needed to understand that King Myand'r and Queen Luand'r were the rulers of Tamaran and as such, they had a responsibility to their people that superseded all their other demands—including that of parenthood. They were often involved in diplomatic conferences on far away planets or hosting important envoys or negotiating with potential enemies, and these duties left them with little extra time. When Galfore asked if she understood, she smiled and pretended that she did.

Some nights, Starfire lies awake and wonders if her parents have taken time out of their busy schedule to at least _notice_ that she is now approximately twenty-six light years away from them. It is too much to hope that they miss her the way she spent years missing them.

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6. She knows that many find it a displeasing task but Starfire does not mind washing dishes. Of course, that might be because Beast Boy often joins her and after putting on a Queen CD, they do their chore as they sing along with Freddy Mercury and dance around the kitchen.

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7. She has considered writing an email to Mr. Webster to ask that his dictionary include "strumpet" and "harlot" as synonyms for the word "kitten".

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8. She realizes that the Titans function under many untruths about each other. Beast Boy is not as foolish as he pretends but he is desperate for the love of others and fears that, without his constant humor and jokes, there would be nothing likeable about him. Raven is not as distant as she wants everyone to believe and could probably show more emotion but to do so would make her vulnerable, and the Azarathian is not willing to open herself up for fear that she will be hurt. Cyborg is not as uncomfortable with his appearance as one would think but because that expectation _is_ there, he is uncomfortable with the fact that he has accepted himself. Robin is not as strict as the common observer would believe but he would rather his friends be frustrated with his devotion to stringent training sessions and his inflexibility with rules than to allow one of them to be hurt because he did not do enough to prepare or protect them.

Starfire is also aware that even she allows misconceptions about herself to be accepted. For instance, she is not quite as naïve as she allows the other Titans to think but knows that she must maintain her innocence because her friends do not have nearly enough left. Therefore, when perverse men write her letters of wanton desire, it is only for her team's benefit that she pretends to be unaware of the meaning behind their comments and innuendos.

Of course, it is also amusing to watch Robin become infuriated in her behalf…

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9. She knows that there are more than 4,700 kinds of mustard, and that the first Saturday in August is National Mustard Day. She already has a celebratory mustard pudding recipe to commemorate the day.

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10. Clowns terrify her, and it doesn't help that Robin seems to especially dislike them as well.

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11. She loves Blackfire but in her heart, it is Raven who she will always think of as sister.

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12. She once tried to enter Silkie in a pet show. Unfortunately, Silkie ate one of the judges' toupees. The judge panicked. The hair on the toupee tickled Silkie's gag reflex and he threw up. As the earth saying goes, it all went down hill from there.

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13. She was surprised by Cyborg's protectiveness during their adventure with Val Yor but she thought it was due to the explanation he gave her—he understands how she felt because he is half robot and has faced similar situations. A few days later, however, a documentary about the civil right movement came on the television and Cyborg asked her to watch it with him. She still does not understand the nature of the hatred shown by Val Yor and the angry-faced people on TV but as she held her friend's hand throughout the program, Starfire believes she truly knows why Cyborg understands.

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14. Her love belongs to Robin alone but sometimes her dreams belong to another. It is after those nights that she cannot meet Robin's eyes for fear that he will look at her and know that last night her heart was in the hands of a smooth-talking thief instead of his.

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15. She knows that there is good in Blackfire. She _knows_ there is and she must hold onto her belief that Blackfire can conquer her anger and bitterness. She has to—because Starfire can see her sister's darkness in herself. She knows she is likely one of the most powerful beings on the planet. She knows that, despite allowing Galfore to rule in her stead, she still has command of the entire Tamaranian army. She knows she could have Jump City and possibly the Earth for herself if she chose to fight for it.

She chooses not to. She will always choose not to, and Starfire believes if she can make the right choice between good and evil than her sister can, too.

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16. Her team thinks that, despite living in Blackfire's shadow, she grew up in luxury and happiness. She lets them believe this. The past is the past, after all, and there is no need worry them with the memories of slavery and experiments that sometimes haunt her dreams.

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17. She absolutely cannot stand Star Trek. There are simply too many fabrications. After all, everyone this side of the Vega star system knows that Vulcans are notoriously hot-headed and emotional while the Klingons are actually the most peaceful of peoples.

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18. She enjoys Shakespeare. His innuendoes sometimes make her blush and she must remind herself that his version of English is not applicable in the modern world but it was his encouragement—"The course of true love never did run smooth," he advised—that gave her the patience she needed to endure until Robin finally gave in to his heart.

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19. She has seen Robin overcome Slade and his own inner demons. She has seen Cyborg defeat Brother Blood and come to terms with himself. She has seen Raven conquer Trigon and free herself in the process. She has seen Beast Boy stand against the Brotherhood of Evil and prove that he is the hero his friends never doubted he was. And Starfire knows her own test must be soon—and she does not fear it. Why should she, when she knows her friends will be there to lend her their strength and confidence as she gave them hers?

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20. Sometimes she finds it disheartening that the Titans are her only friends on Earth. But that feeling doesn't last long as she reminds herself that she could search a million galaxies and still not find friends like the ones she has now.


	6. Terra

**A/N:** Okay, this chapter comes with a warning and that is—do not bash Terra. I know there are a lot of people out there who think she should burn in the depths of hell but I'm not one of them. I like Terra quite a bit actually. She's complicated. She's a good person who did some horrible things. She's very, very human. So if you don't like her, do not flame me for posting this—and go ahead and read it anyway. Who knows? Maybe you'll like her a bit more when you get through.

If nothing else, I suggest you look up the lyrics to "Like a Rolling Stone." That song fits Terra so well, it's scary.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Teen Titans. That's DC comics, who I took a lot of liberties and creative licenses from to write this chapter. I'll be returning those later.

20Truths: Terra

1. She doesn't know much about her life before she turned five. She knows she was born in a place called Markovia, and something bad was happening there at the time. Maybe there was a war going on or maybe someone was just trying to hurt her family, although she doesn't know who it was with or why. One of her few semi-clear memories is of the night her parents died. The house started shaking and the sky lit up like an electric light, and somewhere in the confusion, both her parents were—shot, she thinks. The only reason she survived was because her brother, Brion, protected her. He was way older than her and could move the ground like she later discovered she could. He made a cave for them to hide in until the morning and when they went back out into the sunlight, he covered her eyes so she wouldn't see her mom and dad's bodies. They lived in the United States for a long time after that. She went to pre-school and she thinks Brion had a job somewhere. He told her bedtime stories and took her to the playground. She thinks they were happy.

Then one day as he was dropping her off at pre-school, Brion said he had to go back to Markovia but he would be only be gone a few days and some friends would look after her until he returned. Only…no one came to pick her up that afternoon. The Children Services people eventually came for her and even though she insisted that Brion was coming back, they stuck in her foster care. That got old really fast, and as soon as she was old enough, she ran away. She's been on her own ever since, and she's fine with that. Maybe Brion will find her some day. Or maybe she'll find him. She hopes so.

She likes the thought of having a family again.

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2. She was ten when she first discovered she could move the earth. She was in New Mexico and saw some punks messing around with an armadillo. They were hurting it and she knew she had to stop them but they were way bigger than her so she grabbed a rock from the ground, thinking she could maybe hit one of the boys and then outrun the others. She aimed carefully and threw the rock as hard as she could—and screamed with the boys when all the other rocks in the area went hurtling toward them. She ran way, shaking uncontrollably and wondering just what was wrong with her.

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3. Her favorite movie is _The Matrix_. She snuck into different theaters six times just to watch it again and again. She saw the sequels, too, and even though they weren't as good, she'll defend them against anyone who says the Wachowski Brothers aren't gods.

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4. She tried to control her powers. She tried _so hard_—but she couldn't do it. Sure, she learned to keep them in check for a little while but it was always only a matter of time before she slipped up and someone got hurt. Her powers were too strong. Or maybe she was too weak. Either way, she was a danger and no one knew how to help her. People were usually too afraid of her to even consider helping her so after a while, she learned to keep quiet about what she could do. She didn't let herself really become friends with anyone. The less people knew about her, the better. That way, no one got hurt when she disappeared from somewhere after only a few days—and she never had anyone to miss.

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5. It really is possible to go around the world in eighty days without the use of modern technology. But she did it on a flying piece of rock, not in a hot-air balloon…and the only reason she did it at all was because she couldn't figure out how to make the rock stop…and man, was it hard to get food and water without causing massive property damage…

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6. She loves root beer floats.

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7. She liked all the Titans instantly. Even though he seemed a little anal-retentive and intimidating, Robin was a really nice guy and truly cared about his teammates. Starfire was probably the friendliest, kindest person Terra had ever known, and Cyborg had moved into the position of her big brother as if it was the most natural thing in the world to look after someone you've only just met. Even Raven had a bunch of good qualities because underneath the smirks and sarcasm, the dark girl was actually really cool and super smart. And Beast Boy…well, what _wasn't_ there to like about Beast Boy? And that one night when he told her she should stay, she'd never wanted anything so badly. She wanted be to one of them. She trusted the Titans as much as she trusted anyone.

Later, Terra would think it was too bad she _didn't_ trust anyone.

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8. She honestly didn't think Starfire's food was that bad. Of course, she changed her opinion rather quickly when she was attacked by the blue fuzz in the fridge…

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9. She doesn't like Christmas. People used to get a little upset with her when she mentioned that but they usually didn't understand. They didn't know what it was like to wake up alone on Christmas morning.

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10. The team watched _Pirates of the Caribbean_ one evening and when Jack Sparrow said that the deepest circle of hell was reserved for mutineers and betrayers, it was all she could do not to shiver.

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11. Her date with Beast Boy was an escape, a way to push the inevitable off for just a few moments longer and keep him safe from whatever Slade planned to do to Titans Tower. She wanted to show him, at least for a little bit, that she did truly care about him. She didn't _want_ to hurt him. She even hated lying to him. She hated that she had to look him in the face and see the way he looked at her like she was someone special, someone kind and pure and wonderful.

There were a lot of words that described Terra Markov but she doubted that list should include special, kind, pure, or wonderful.

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12. Halfway through Slade's modifications to her body, she remembers thinking through the haze of pain that she was losing herself and it terrified her but Slade calmed her when he said she was just becoming who she was always meant to be. "And there can be nothing terrifying about such a beautiful girl," he whispered, curling her hair around his fingers and _she believed him_.

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13. She meant it when she said she had no regrets. Growing up as she had, alone and generally homeless, she had learned pretty early that there wasn't a lot of time for regrets. A person did what they had to do to survive, and that was that. There was no point in dwelling on decisions made and feeling guilty when a person can't change the past and can't control the future. And this time, the facts of the matter were as simple as a mathematical equation: she had not been able to control her powers, which made her both dangerous and weak. The Titans had not been able to help her and therefore she had gone to someone who could. No, she did not have any regrets.

But she wasn't proud of herself, either.

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14. Beast Boy's words might have given her the strength to stand against Slade—but it was what Raven said that made her listen. "It'll be the last thing you ever do," Raven told her as she unwilling prepared to let that rock fall on Beast Boy. Terra knew the other girl wasn't bluffing. Slade had forced her to study the Titans extensively. She didn't know them as well as they knew each other but she did know them better than they knew themselves. Raven was not a killer—but for her friends, for Beast Boy, she would become one.

And who had Terra been willing to murder for? Slade, who manipulated her into becoming this monster?

_Oh, _Terra thought because she didn't think there was a word to adequately describe just how short-sighted and foolish and _wrong_ she had been.

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15. Brion had liked poetry and so as she felt the heat from the rising lava singeing her hair and clothes, she wasn't too surprised that her final scattered thoughts were of a poem he read to her. _Some say the world will end in fire…_

_-_

16. She doesn't believe in fate or destiny and she's not really sure how she feels about God so she can't imagine why she's still alive. She's heard of second chances and she's pretty sure Terra Markov doesn't deserve one. But maybe Tara—just Tara—can have another try.

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17. She thinks she'd like to be a geologist when she grows up. Even without her powers, she instinctively knows the exact composition and age of any rock she comes into contact with. Maybe she can even find a way to prevent landslides or better predict earthquakes.

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18. She heard Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" in her music appreciation class last semester. She's glad her teacher let her go to the bathroom right after it ended. She doesn't know how she would have explained why she was crying.

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19. She was invited to a carnival the other day. She didn't go. She's not going to feel guilty for the rest of her life but she thinks it's going to be a little while longer before she can be happy and feel okay that she is.

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20. Things have changed. That's the only lie she didn't tell Beast Boy—who she misses so much it _hurts_, but the past is the past, and it would only do more harm than good to try to bring it back. He'll be okay. He's got Raven and the other Titans to make sure of that, and besides, she knows he's way tougher than anyone gives him credit for. She knows he'll be okay. And she'll be alright, too. Her foster mom is pretty cool and she actually likes high school. She likes having a normal life. She likes being Tara—not Terra.

But maybe someday…if they ever _really_ need her and if they've forgiven her…and if she's forgiven herself…maybe she'll go back.

Maybe.


	7. Jinx

**A/N**: Once again, I am terribly behind on review replies and I know it probably doesn't mean much now but I will catch up, both with the ones left for this story and for The Green Files. I'm very sorry, and I do truly appreciate any and all reviews. School has simply taken over my life at the moment, and if I want to get into grad school, I have to make good grades.

That said, we'll move on to Jinx, the subject of this 20Truths. She's a great character, even if I am flailing around just a little bit when I write her, and it's too bad she was only in, what, five episodes? Yet another reason why I wish the series had continue--the writers develope a minor character into someone very colorful and interesting, and then everything ends. That fact made this 20Truth just a little bit difficult to do and most of the information here is a mix of slight comic references, speculation, and my own imagination. Also, no one get upset about the references to pairings I've made. In all honesty, I'm more of a Cy/Jinx fan but most of what's here is KF/Jinx because that's what the series left us with.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this update and more will be coming in the future, along with those review replies.

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing.

20Truths: Jinx

1. She isn't a good person but she thinks the only thing truly bad about her is her luck.

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2. She had parents once, and they loved her very much. They called her their "lucky charm" but that luck didn't save them when they got sick and it didn't help them have enough money to pay for treatment at a hospital. Jinx was taken to the US after they died, and even though it's been a long time since then, sometimes she misses her mom and dad so much it _hurts_.

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3. Her powers are…difficult to explain. She uses magic but she's never had anyone teach her anything and she's never read a spell book. She just _knows_ how to use her abilities, like it's an instinct or something. Of course, things go wrong with them sometimes but it's always been like that. _She's_ always been like that. It's how she got the name "Jinx."

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4. She did have a name before "Jinx." She just doesn't remember it.

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5. The first thing she ever stole was an umbrella. She'd just escaped some crappy orphanage in a city she can't remember the name of and it was the middle of a rainy night. She used her powers to break the glass window of a general store—and accidentally broke every glass object within the place. Alarms were going off so she grabbed an umbrella and ran until her eight-year-old legs gave out from under her.

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6. Her hair is natural. Her eyes are natural. She's really getting tired of being asked those questions.

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7. She never set out to be a criminal and joining the HIVE was less of a desire to cause mass destruction and more of a matter of survival. She was a teenaged, pink-haired freak with no parents, no home, and a tendency to naturally attract bad luck. The only thing she was good at was magic, and the only people who didn't seem to hate her were Gizmo (who she'd found hiding out in a run-down playground, fiddling with his first attempt at his hover ring and grumbling about showing it off to a bunch of "scum-slurping slug butts" who'd been beating up on him) and Mammoth (who had just received his bulk and hair from a steroid experiment that went way, way wrong). They took care of each other and tried to keep to themselves but when trouble kept finding them—trouble being all the punks who wanted to pick fights because of the color of her hair or Giz's size or Mammoth's slight stench—Jinx came to a decision. _Well, fuck it_, she thought. _If the rest of the world has a problem with us then we'll at least give them a reason to be so afraid. They're not going to push us around anymore. _

She, Gizmo, and Mammoth joined HIVE the next day.

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8. She _really_ hates those e-surance commercials.

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9. For the HIVE Superlative Awards, she won Most Likely to Join a Punk Rock Band three years in a row. She's oddly proud of that, even if she isn't sure how fitting it is.

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10. She doesn't like to admit it but she always kind of admired the Titans. Sure, they were enemies and all and they were certainly bad for business but it wasn't like she ever _hated_ them. She thought it was funny how Beast Boy would pester Raven while the dark girl pretended not to like the attention, and she—just like everyone else in Jump City—had a pool going on just how long it would take for Robin to ask Starfire out. She liked that Cyborg had an awesome car and took care of his friends, just like she took care of Giz and Mammoth. She'd always thought that they were probably all pretty cool once you got to know them.

Jinx just didn't think she'd ever have a chance to get to know them.

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11. The most frustrating thing about being the HIVE's resident "tough girl" was that everyone always used to forget about the 'girl' part. Sure, she liked that she was considered just as good as—and usually better than—any of the guys but was it so hard to remember that she _wasn't_ a guy? She thinks that's what made her like Stone so much—he didn't forget. He accepted her as a reliable teammate who just happened to be a girl. He didn't laugh when she watched _Moulin Rouge_. Instead, he sat down and watched it with her. They both got a little misty-eyed during the final scene but then they looked at each other. A second later, they were both laughing so hard, they really did start crying.

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12. Her favorite color isn't pink. She likes turquoise.

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13. He kept the thorns on the rose he gave her. Jinx thinks that may be why she's attracted to Kid Flash.

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14. She's always considered herself a strong person. That didn't keep her from crying the night after she left the HIVE Five.

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15. She has pictures of the Titans from the Mother Mae-Eye incident. She's still debating on whether or not to post them on the internet.

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16. Sometimes she wonders if Mammoth and Gizmo hate her now. They probably do (or they'll at least _act_ like they do) but she can't blame them. She never promised to be around forever but if she had things to do over again, she wouldn't have just left them like that. She would have at least gone back to tell them goodbye.

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17. Yes, she's seen Cyborg. Yes, she knows he's sorry. Yes, she knows it hurts him to see her with Kid Flash. Yes, that bothers her.

No, she's not ready to talk to him yet.

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18. She chats online with See-More every now and then. The connection is safe and she never says anything about the Titans but those are only precautions. She doubts he'd turn her in to the others. He's too nice of a guy.

Of course, the fact that she has him half-convinced to leave HIVE also helps…

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19. This hero thing really isn't her style and she doubts she'll ever be completely comfortable with it. People still give her weird looks on the street. People still call her names when they don't think she'll hear. People still sneer and treat her like she's nothing more than a superhero wannabe.

But she's okay with that now and she'll still save those people's asses later—but not for them. She'll do it for Kid Flash and the other Titans. They're just like her and after all, Jinx has always been good at taking care of her fellow freaks.

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20. Joan Jett so wrote "Bad Reputation" just for her.


End file.
